Sleepless Nights
by Gary Merchant
Summary: Jo learns a little bit more about Time Lord physionomy.


SLEEPLESS NIGHTS  
  
She lay in her bed, unable to settle. Although she was physically tired, mentally Jo Grant was very much awake. It had been like this for the past few nights – recently the problem had become so bad that she had chosen to bed down at UNIT HQ instead of home.  
  
After tossing and turning for what seemed an age, she finally gave up. Throwing the covers back, she got out of bed and slipped into her dressing gown. There was only one thing likely to help now. She set off in the direction of the UNIT canteen to make herself a mug of cocoa.  
  
*****  
  
The route from Jo's room to the canteen took her past the Doctor's lab. As she drew level with the double doors, Jo noticed a movement through the frosted glass, and a dim light. She froze. Who could be here at this time of night? With only the night officer on duty, Jo was virtually on her own. In spite of her fear, she noted that the light from the lab was static – not a torch, then. And whoever was inside, their movements were not furtive. However, she was glad to feel the shape of the handgun in the pocket of her gown. With the gun now in her hand, Jo slowly opened one of the doors.  
  
Inside the lab, she could see a figure perched on one of the stools dotted around the room. The light from the standard lamp showed his silhouette clearly. Silently, Jo reached out and threw the main light switch into the 'on' position. The unnatural glare took the intruder by surprise. "What the – Jo, what on earth do you think you're doing?"  
  
She stared, her mouth open. "Doctor, I could have killed you!"  
  
*****  
  
After they had both recovered from their mutual surprise, Jo sat down on the old sofa in the corner of the room, while the Doctor busied himself making a mug of cocoa for them both. "Here you are, Jo." He smiled, handling her a mug. Then he sat down next to her. "Well, this is a welcome surprise," he said, "but what are you doing here?"  
  
Jo sipped at her drink. "Can't sleep," she replied. "I was on my way to the canteen when I saw the light in here."  
  
"I meant," the Doctor corrected himself, "what are you doing here at UNIT? Surely you have a home to go to?"  
  
"Same answer, really." Jo sighed. "I haven't been sleeping well for a while, so I thought I'd stay here for a few nights. Doesn't seem to make any difference though."  
  
The Doctor sympathised. Since joining UNIT, Jo had been forced to confront many aliens. The stuff of nightmares, he realised. He thought for a moment. "Would you like me to help?"  
  
"You mean hypnosis?" She shook her head. "But that would only be a temporary solution. I need to work this out for myself."  
  
"Alright Jo, if that's how you want it."  
  
"Anyway, what about you?" she wondered. "What are you doing up at this hour?"  
  
"Oh, I'm always up and about," he answered. "I don't need much sleep, as a rule."  
  
Jo couldn't quite accept this. "But everyone needs sleep."  
  
The Doctor sighed. "Jo, you constantly seem to forget that I'm not human. We Time Lords don't require sleep."  
  
"But what about at Stangmoor Prison? And at Devils End?"  
  
"Well, on those occasions I'd suffered some severe mental trauma, so I put myself into a self induced coma, so that I could recover."  
  
Jo nodded. "So, what do you do here each night?"  
  
"Oh, I potter about the lab mainly, trying to get the TARDIS working." He looked toward the window. "Sometimes I look up at the stars, hoping . . ." He turned back to Jo. "That's something I envy in humanity."  
  
"I don't understand."  
  
"The fact that your species has such a unique facility for sleep. Not all races have that virtue, not even Time Lords." The Doctor gazed down at the remains of his cocoa. "The nights are worse for me, Jo. That's when my exile really hits me."  
  
He rose up to his full height, and slowly paced around the lab. "There's only so much I can do to occupy myself at night – repairing circuits, trying out new theories. Even filling out those blasted reports for the Brigadier. And when that's all done, all that's left for me to do is look at the stars."  
  
Jo saw the Doctor in a completely new light. How many nights had he looked up at the night sky, in the hope that one day he could resume his travels through time and space? He had spoken to her once before about his trial and sentence. Now Jo at last realised just how much the Doctor's exile to Earth had truly affected him. "Well, I think the Time Lords did you a favour."  
  
The Doctor couldn't believe what he'd just heard. "What arrant nonsense!"  
  
"It isn't nonsense, and you know it. The Time Lords could have sent you anywhere. Somewhere with an unbreatheable atmosphere, or on a barren wasteland. Instead they sent you here, where you could do the most good." Jo was warming to her theory. "With all their powers, they must have known that Earth would be a prime target for invasion. So they picked you as its defender."  
  
The Doctor stared at Jo in amazement. True, the Time Lords could have deposited him anywhere in the known universe, but their choice had been Earth. Since then, he had fought against the Nestenes, Axons, Daleks and all manner of alien invader. At the time, he had put the timing of his exile down to pure coincidence. But now Jo had put her finger on the crux of the matter.  
  
There were times, he admitted to himself, when people like Jo could display such startling insight that left him lost for words.  
  
"And there's one other thing," Jo added. "You have friends here. People who care about you."  
  
The Doctor smiled. "Even the Brigadier?"  
  
She knew when he was teasing her. "Yes, even the Brigadier." She put a hand to her mouth to stifle a yawn.  
  
Jo's cocoa was now long finished, so the Doctor took the mug from her and rinsed both of them in the sink. "Perhaps I should be more accepting of the situation," he declared, "because you're right, Jo. I do have friends. And I have a home here," he realised. "Something I never thought I'd find again." He turned back from the sink to face her, only to find Jo snuggled deep in the sofa, sound asleep.  
  
Not wishing to wake her, the Doctor quietly lifted his cloak from the coat stand, spread it open and lay it across her. Then he took a few steps back toward the TARDIS, and opened the door. Before he went inside the Doctor looked back at Jo – innocent in so many ways, but so worldly wise in others.  
  
*****  
  
It was morning when the Doctor stepped out from the TARDIS. "Come on, Jo. Rise and shi . . ." Of Jo there was no sign. The sofa was empty, and the Doctor's cloak had been replaced on the stand.  
  
He was about to return to the TARDIS when the Doctor noticed a package lying on the workbench. Curious, he picked it up and read the card. "For emergencies only" was the cryptic message. The Doctor tore open the wrapping paper, wondering what he would find.  
  
"Oh, Jo!" Obviously a thank-you present, it was certainly a surprise. And something he had never owned before.  
  
In his hands was a brand new pair of striped pyjamas. 


End file.
